


Random Liam and Brett Stuff

by leonheart2012



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-05
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-03-13 21:25:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 19,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13579239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonheart2012/pseuds/leonheart2012
Summary: Chapter 1: Liam's BirthdayChapter 2: Do You Care?Chapter 3: I'm SorryChapter 4: AnniversaryChapter 5: Brett's BirthdayChapter 6: Wasted DaysChapter 7: I DoChapter 8: From Me To YouChapter 9: Do I Have To?Chapter 10: Are You There?Chapter 11: Over the HillsChapter 12: The Twelve Days of ChristmasChapter 13: CustodyChapter 14: Forget-Me-NotChapter 15: My ImaginationChapter 16: Dream of YouChapter 17: When We're ApartChapter 18: Twenty-Seven DaysChapter 19: I Know YouChapter 20: How About Now?





	1. Liam's Birthday

**LIAM’S BIRTHDAY**

Liam woke up groggy at around ten in the afternoon. As he rolled over to look at his clock, he leapt out of bed.

“What?” He exclaimed, almost bashing his toe on his bedside drawers. “Why didn’t my alarm go off?” Stripping, he called downstairs. “Mom? Mom?”

“What is it, honey?” She asked, poking her head around the corner.

“I’m late!” He explained, throwing his shirt into the laundry and fishing around for a clean one in the dryer. It was still warm from having being in the machine.

As he rushed into the bathroom, his mother came up the stairs. “Late for what?” She asked, perplexed. “School’s not on today.”

“No, not that.” Liam sighed, exasperated. “I’m going out for my birthday today!” He called through the door, turning the hot tap on and sticking his hand under the flow until he got the right temperature.

“Oh, right. I remember you said something about that.” Her footsteps receded back to the kitchen. “Come down when you’re ready!” She called back.

Liam didn’t bother answering her, just started washing himself quickly.

 

“Oh, honey. You look so handsome. Another year older.” She kissed his temple as he rushed about making toast. “Happy birthday, darling.”

“Thanks mom.” He looked at his phone and almost swore before catching himself. “Hey, can you drive me?”

“Sure. Where am I going?” She asked as she grabbed the keys.

“The park. Mason said he had a surprise, and to be there at eleven. It’s the park we used to go to as kids.”

“Oh.” His mother rushed out the door. “That’s a bit of a drive away. Buckle your seat belt!”

She pushed the keys into the ignition and twisted until the car started, then careened out of the driveway. Liam laughed at her driving; she’d always been running late for something, resulting in crazy dashes like this.

 

They reached the park in record time, just before eleven. “Go, go, go!” She said, kissing his cheek as he leapt out of the car and waved his mother goodbye.

Finally allowing himself to catch his breath, he looked at the park. It was mostly abandoned now, halfway done the process of rotting through. Since most of the playground equipment was wood, termites had built up residences in the castle and swing set. The only exception was the slide, which was plastic, but it had been covered in graffiti. Even the underside was coated in a thick layer of ink and paint.

Most recent was an arrow pointing into the tree line along the west side of the playground. Liam followed it until he found another one. Puzzled, he continued to follow the string of graffiti until he was standing in a clearing.

Whirling around, he looked around for another arrow, but couldn’t see one. “Hello? Mason?” He called, kind of panicking.

“Hi.” A voice said, but it wasn’t Mason’s. It was Hayden’s.

Liam turned around and saw Hayden standing in the clearing with him. “Cryptic instructions from Mason?” He guessed.

“Actually, no. I asked him to do this.” She walked towards him and put her hands on his shoulders. “Still like me?”

“I’m…mostly I’m just confused right now.” He said, taking a step back. Hayden frowned. “Why did you do this? Why not just come and visit me?”

“I wanted it to be a surprise.” She said, looking hurt.

Liam shook his head. “You turning up at all would have been a surprise. Why did you bring me out here?”

“I didn’t want anyone to see us.”

“See us do what?” Liam was getting flustered and frustrated. Before he could do any more damage, he turned around again and started to walk in the direction of the park. Or at least, he thought it was the direction of the park, wasn’t it?

Taking another few steps, he looked for one of the graffiti arrows. He couldn’t find any. Heart thundering in his ears, he started to crash in all different directions, getting himself fully turned around and lost.

“Where am I?” He called out in desperation, fumbling for his phone. Surely he could call-

“No signal?” Liam whined, staring in dismay at his phone.

Hearing a twig snap, Liam whirled in that direction and looked at a tall figure coming out from between the trees. They didn’t even seem to see Liam until they almost trod on him.

“Oh!” He said, taking a step back. Reaching up, he took his earphones out and looked at Liam. “Liam?” He asked, sounding puzzled. “What are you doing out here?”

“I wish I knew. What are you doing out here, Brett?”

Brett shrugged. “I come out here for runs.” He eyed Liam suspiciously. “What happened?”

Liam sighed and sat down, his legs feeling somewhat shaky. “Mason told me to come out here at around eleven today. I followed some graffiti arrows to a clearing. Hayden was there.”

“Why did he tell you to come out here? Why did you actually _listen_?”

Abruptly, Liam glanced up, glaring at Brett. “He’s my best friend.”

Brett shrugged again, taking a seat across from Liam. “Does that mean you play along with all his schemes?”

“Mason doesn’t have schemes.” Liam snapped, still glaring.

“Whatever.” Brett said, backing down. “Why here?”

“We used to play in the park near here.” He said, looking at the trees, as if he could see the park through them.

“Park?” Brett asked, looking around at the trees too. “I don’t know anything about a park, and I’ve run through most of the woods here. You sure you didn’t walk a really…really long way by accident?”

Liam shot him a withering look. “I’m sure. I was only walking maybe ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes can take you a long way.” Brett said, picking up a loose stick and snapping it in half. “It can also stretch to fifteen or twenty really easily.” He shrugged yet again. “Easy to get lost in ten minutes.”

“I’m not…lost.” Liam said defensively.

“Oh? So you _wanted_ to be wandering aimlessly?”

“How do you know I was wandering aimlessly?” Liam asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes.

Brett shrugged, smirking. “I didn’t.”

Liam cursed under his breath and folded his arms.

“So why today anyway?”

“It’s my birthday.” He mumbled, knowing full well that Brett could hear him.

Brett softened somewhat. “Your birthday, huh?”

Liam nodded slowly, unsure how he felt about Brett knowing that when his own Alpha didn’t. Brett seemed to look right through Liam’s flesh, into his head.

“Come with me.” He said eventually, standing abruptly. “There’s a lake near here.” Being the taller of the two, he helped Liam to his feet before starting to lead him through the dense forest.

It wasn’t long before they were standing in front of a huge, clear, crystal blue lake. Brett started stripping his clothes off and Liam startled when he saw.

“What are you doing?” He sputtered.

Brett laughed at his expression. “Going for a swim. Don’t worry, the water’s always nice, even when it’s freezing.”

“Will it be freezing now?” Liam asked, somewhat suspiciously.

Brett shrugged before diving in, completely naked. “Not going to join me?” He asked when he resurfaced.

Liam shook his head violently. There was no way he was taking that risk, and not naked, and certainly not with Brett.

“Oh, come on. The water’s nice.” He assured him, but still Liam refused. “Alright, fine.” He relented eventually, dragging himself out of the lake and stretching.

Hastily covering his eyes, Liam turned away, which was apparently the opening Brett had been waiting for. He picked Liam up from behind and threw him into the tranquil waters. Liam was ashamed of his little squeak of protest.

He broke the surface flailing and angry. “You’re not making my day any better.” He growled at Brett, hauling himself out of the water.

Brett was too busy laughing to hear him. Liam scowled at him while he dragged his soaked shirt over his head and laid it on a rock to dry.

Even though he’d covered his eyes before, Liam snuck a few glances at Brett’s naked body.

“Enjoying the view?” Brett asked suddenly after a while.

“Huh?” Liam asked, jumping at the unexpected question and blushing furiously.

Brett smirked knowingly. “The lake.” He elaborated. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

Liam nodded hastily, looking in the opposite direction of Brett. “Yeah, really nice.” He cleared his throat, hoping Brett hadn’t noticed his looking his way.

Procuring a water bottle from somewhere, Brett sat down next to Liam, still naked. Unable to resist, Liam’s eyes flicked over to take in Brett’s unclothed form. His mouth went dry. _Surely it’s illegal to look that good_? He thought, trying in vain to look away.

Eventually, he was openly looking at Brett. “Can you…can you put some clothes on?” Liam asked once he had plucked up the courage.

“Why? Feeling uncomfortable?” Brett asked, his smirk widening to a grin. “I like it like this. Besides, I’m not completely dry yet.”

Seeing nothing else for it, Liam slipped out of his shorts and underwear. Brett eyed him curiously. “What are you doing?”

Liam shrugged with feigned indifference. “We may as well both be naked.” He looked around at the trees. “Not like there’s anyone to see us.” Even as he said it, he wondered if Hayden was still around, if she could see them and, even stranger to him, he wanted her to see it.

His heart was, once again, pounding in his ears. He wasn’t entirely sure why; he’d been naked in the same room as Brett before. Heck, there’d been even more naked boys in the same room. But this felt different, like it meant something different than before.

He glanced over at Brett to see him looking out at the lake. Taking a deep breath, he shifted a little closer. Brett looked down at him curiously.

“I’m cold.” Liam explained simply, and Brett nodded, lifting his arm so Liam could snuggle in closer.

Liam felt as though his heart was going to explode as he leant his head against Brett’s shoulder. It was indeed nice and warm there, in the crook of Brett’s arm, and Liam felt himself begin to drift. His eyelids drooped, but Brett jostled him a little.

“Hey, it’s better if you don’t nod off here. You might catch a cold.”

Liam raised his eyebrows. “You and I both know _that_ can’t happen.”

Brett shrugged, jostling him again. “I can still worry about it.”

“Why would you worry about me at all?” Liam asked quietly, half-hoping Brett wouldn’t hear.

Liam felt Brett shift, and looked up to see Brett looking at him, a strange expression on his face. “Liam, I’m sorry for what I did, before.” He seemed to hesitate before reaching out a hand and cupping Liam’s cheek. “I never knew what day your birthday was before. I’m sorry I never asked, never cared. I should have. I should have known that…”

“Known what?” Liam whispered into the space between them, wishing, yearning for it to be closed.

Brett shook his head, then smiled. “Happy birthday, Liam.”

Looking up at Brett, Liam made a decision. If Brett wasn’t going to do it, he’d take it upon himself to do it. Taking a deep breath, Liam pushed forward, making their lips connect. His chest tightened, his eyes falling closed as he pushed up further into the kiss.

At first, Brett seemed surprised before retaliating in the kiss, pushing back, wrapping his hand around the back of his neck. “Liam.” He whispered when they broke apart.

“Yeah?” Liam answered at the same volume.

“Do you want to go on a date?” Brett asked, still whispering.

Liam chuckled. “I thought getting naked was supposed to happen after we’d been dating for a while?”

Brett shrugged, now smiling too. “I like to be surprising.”

“I can handle that.” He answered back, pushing back up for another kiss, then another, and another. “This might just be the best birthday I’ve ever had.”


	2. Do You Care?

**DO YOU CARE?**

The parchment slipped from Liam’s fingers. _What do I do_? He marched back inside, then turned back to gather up the piece of parchment. Unfolding it, he read it again.

_We have the person who cares about you most. Find them by midnight and we’ll let him live._

_Why would anyone even_ do _this_? Liam thought in a blind panic. Reaching for a pen, he started writing a list of people who cared about him.

The first person was, of course, Mason, then his parents, then Scott, Stiles, Kira and Lydia. Reluctantly, he added Malia’s name to the list. Then came Melissa, although she was a very uncertain candidate.

He went through his list and called each of them, but they were all fine. Starting to pace, he racked his brains for anyone else. Who else cared about him?

All the while, he kept asking himself why. _Why would anyone want to do this? Obviously it’s a trap, but…why take someone not so obvious?_

He read the note again. _We have the person who cares about you most. Find them by midnight and we’ll let him live._

 _Wait a second._ Him _?_

He skimmed the note again, but it was there, in a swirly handwriting. _Him. So it’s a guy. That sort of narrows it down._

Continuing to pace, he absently folded and unfolded the note. Looking down at his hands, he saw something odd. There was a number printed on the back of the paper. Curious, Liam pulled out his phone and dialled it.

“Hello, you have reached White Lady Funerals. We are currently closed. Please leave your name and number so we can call you back.”

 _Of course they’re closed,_ Liam thought, _it’s two in the morning._

He thought back to how the note came to him.

He’d been asleep when a knock came on the door, pounding, frantic, but when he got down to the first floor and opened the door, there wasn’t anyone there, just a small slip of paper. That had been about an hour ago now.

His first assumption was that the knocking was from whoever left the note, but now he wasn’t so sure. The knocking had been frantic, like they were trying to get away from something. Liam shivered, even though it wasn’t cold. _It was probably the guy they were chasing, coming to warn me._

 _If they were coming to warn me, then it was someone who knows where I live._ He reasoned, so he started writing out a list of all the people who knew his address.

Right at the very end of the list, his hand hovered over the paper. _It’s possible._ He told himself, forcing himself to write their names.

_Brett and Lori._

He’d given them a place to stay just after Satomi and the rest of their pack had died. Having been out one night (on a date) Liam saw them huddled in a coffee shop. He’d excused himself and gone to see if they were alright. Their eyes had been rimmed with red and puffy. Brett had jumped when Liam touched him on the shoulder.

“Hey, you okay?” Liam had asked.

Brett had shrugged in response, and told him all about what had happened to his pack, his family. “There was nothing we could do, so I took Lori and ran. But now we have nowhere to stay, no money…”

Liam had offered to take them home, which led to an awkward conversation with his date, who got annoyed and left.

 _But they’re both dead._ Liam scolded himself, and went to cross off their names.

_Who else could it be, though?_

Sighing, Liam decided to just go back to sleep. He’d annoyed everyone by waking them up so early just to ask if they were okay. _No, best to get some sleep so I can wake up refreshed and hopefully think clearly._

Liam’s dreams were infected with images of Brett and Lori’s dead bodies. He kept seeing them in every painting and photograph of the house he was walking through. Opening doors led to either scenes of their deaths or the funerals that followed.

He woke with a start, then ran to the bathroom where he threw up. Unable to move, he sat there for hours afterward, crying.

“They’re dead.” He told himself sternly. “They’re dead!” He started banging his head back against the wall. “Dead, dead, dead!”

“Liam?” Scott’s voice came from downstairs. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine!” Liam called back, hastily wiping his eyes and washing his face. When he turned around, Scott was standing in the doorway, looking at him with a concerned expression.

“What?” Liam saw a folded piece of paper in Scott’s hands and his heart jumped. “What’s that?”

Scott unfolded the piece of paper and read it. “I was hoping you could tell me, Liam.” He turned it around so Liam could see the heading; _People who care about me_. “Liam, are you okay?”

“That isn’t what you think it is.” Liam said quickly, reaching for the list.

Frowning, Scott held it away from his grasp. “Well then what is it? Liam, why are Brett and Lori on this list?”

Liam started to get angry, but held himself back from snapping. He took several deep breaths and repeated his mantra.

Looking very concerned, Scott helped Liam to sit on the bed. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not going to kill myself, Scott. I know that’s what you think, but it…that’s not it.”

“Then tell me what is.”

Liam sighed; Scott was just going to keep asking. “Did you see another sheet of paper beside that one?” He asked softly.

“No.”

“That can’t be right. I left it on top of it, I’m sure.” Liam went downstairs and searched everywhere, while Scott looked on, growing more and more concerned. “It was here.”

“Liam…” Scott walked forward and put his hand on Liam’s shoulder, but he shrugged him off.

“It was here!” Liam shouted, still searching, turning over cushions and picking up dishes.

“Okay, I believe you, Liam.” He approached Liam again and enveloped him in a hug. “It’s okay.”

“No, it isn’t.” Liam moaned. “It means they came back, but this time, they came inside.” He sat down and shook his head before dropping it into his hands. “I don’t understand.”

“Understand what?” Scott tried to touch Liam again, but he flitted away, this time over to the kitchen window.

“The note, Brett’s death, everything.” He replied, looking out the window at his back fence.

“Note?” Liam nodded absently. “What did it say?”

“ _We have the person who cares about you most. Find them by midnight and we’ll let him live._ ” Liam recited. He’d read the note a hundred times over, held it in his hands. He knew it was real. “It has to be Brett. I can’t think of anyone else.”

“It said that specifically? _We have_ the person _who cares about you most_?”

Liam nodded again. “Why?”

“Well, that wording would suggest that it’s a person who cares only about you. Brett didn’t _only_ care about you. He cared about Lori and Satomi and the rest of his pack.”

“I didn’t think about it that way.” Liam muttered, feeling somewhat stupid.

“Then it continued; _Find_ them _by midnight and we’ll let_ him _live?_ ”

Yet again, Liam nodded. “Yeah. I thought that was weird, too. There was also a phone number on the back. I called it, and it was to a funeral parlour, but they were closed.”

“Called them right after calling me, did you?” Scott asked with a smile. “Do you really think that has something to do with it?”

“I don’t know. It was White Lady Funerals. Can’t we just go and check, see if they know anything?”

“What would we ask, Liam?” Scott sighed. “Don’t you remember what company handled the funerals?” He asked hopefully. Scott himself hadn’t felt it would be appropriate to attend and had let Liam go alone.

Liam shuddered at the memory of the funeral. He’d felt uneasy the whole time, like he’d been being watched. Every time he looked, though, there wasn’t anyone there. Brett’s teammates had also glared at him the whole time, adding to his discomfort.

“I don’t remember, no. I was mostly worried about remembering Brett.” He looked down at his feet.

Scott sighed. “Well, I suppose we could ask them if it was them who organised the funerals.” He looked at the time on his phone. “They should actually be open now.”

Nodding, Liam followed Scott out to where Stiles’ Jeep waited. They hopped in and set off for the funeral parlour.

 

“Hi, how can I help you?” A pretty young receptionist asked them as they walked through the door.

Scott took it upon himself to ask, as Liam was busy cringing at everything he looked at. “Yeah, hi, can you tell us if it was you who held the funeral for Brett and Lori Talbot? My mother just loved the funeral set up, and wondered if she could start booking with the same company, but we were so caught up in the loss we forgot to take a note or ask.”

“Oh, of course. Do you remember the date the funeral was held on?”

Liam caught up finally and provided the date. There was a clacking of keys, then the flipping of pages that came from behind the desk before she looked up again. “I have a funeral for Lori Talbot, but not Brett. Maybe they went with a different company?”

Frowning, Liam shook his head. “That wouldn’t make any sense. Why would they do that?”

“Well, if they had their funeral on the same day-“

“Of course they did.” Liam snapped. “They were brother and sister. They were buried next to their parents, one on either side. They were buried at the same time, on the same day, together.” Liam closed his eyes, trying to calm himself.

“Sorry, it’s been a really rough time.” Scott explained, and the woman nodded.

“I understand. I’m not sure why we don’t have Brett Talbot in our system. I even looked at the book, but it seems that the page got damaged.”

“Damaged?” Liam asked abruptly. “Damaged how?”

The lady flinched when Liam spoke. “Uh, well, it looks like someone spilt something on it, and ripped it while trying to clean it up.”

Liam frowned. “Do you remember the graveyard they were buried in?”

“Uh, yes, just a few blocks from here. The old church has a graveyard there, and that’s where they were buried.” She showed them on a map, but Liam wasn’t waiting around for that.

Scott quickly snatched up a business card from the desk and thanked the woman for her time. Hastily following Liam, he wondered just what was going on.

Liam’s strides lengthened to take him to the cemetery quicker. He needed to see it, see if they really dug him up. His strides quickened further, speeding up to a jog, then a run.

He dimly heard Stiles’ Jeep start up and follow him through the streets. Uncaring, he threw himself across the road, causing more than a few cars to slam on their breaks. He was almost there.

And then he was there, rushing through the plots, looking for that one familiar one. He found it after only four rows, where he fell to his knees, panting. His eyes blurred with unshed tears.

_He’s here, under this earth, Liam. He’s not alive. He’s still here._

Liam just couldn’t take it anymore. He couldn’t take hoping that he was still alive when he knew he wasn’t.

_He’s not coming back._

Scott ran through the gravestones until he found Liam. He was hunched over their graves, crying. Scott sighed, but left Liam to mourn in peace.

 

Liam came back to the Jeep two hours later, looking utterly defeated. “I don’t know what to do, Scott. What…who else could it be? Why go through all that trouble? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t understand either, Liam.” There was an uncomfortable silence while they both thought about what to say. “I’m sorry, Liam.” Scott said eventually. “I know you wanted him to be alive.”

“I want them both…them _all_ to be alive, Scott. Not just Brett, but Satomi, Lori, all of them.” He sniffled. “Why did they have to die?”

Scott shook his head. “I don’t know.”

“Maybe they’re bluffing. Maybe they don’t have anyone.” Liam jumped as a rock smashed the side mirror of the Jeep. He got out and looked at it.

“ _That’s a dangerous assumption._ ” He read, and a shiver of fear ran up his spine. “They’re watching us.”

“Yeah, I can tell.” Scott said uneasily. “Alright, get in, let’s go back to your place.”

 

When they got back to Liam’s place, they hurried inside.

“Why is this happening?” Liam whined, trying to push himself under the kitchen counter.

Scott shook his head. “I really don’t know, Liam.” He was having a hard time wrapping his head around it too. What he couldn’t figure out was how there were so many eyes on them that they could have been watching both at Liam’s house and the graveyard. Was this all some sick game?

“Well, what do we do?” Liam asked, looking to Scott for help.

Suddenly, it made a kind of twisted sense. “We go to where Brett and Lori died.”

 

It was just past three in the afternoon when they got to the spot where Brett and Lori died. There was still a brownish mark on the road where the rain hadn’t quite washed away their blood. Liam was looking more and more distressed.

Sniffing the air, Scott found the scent of blood and started to follow it. It went back into the woods. “This way.”

Liam followed slowly, reluctantly, not wanting to see what they were going to find.

He heard him before he saw him; Brett was crying. Softly, but still crying. Liam started forward, but Scott held him back. “No, they want us to rush into it. We need backup.”

Another rock was hurled into the trees, landing just beside Liam. He picked it up. “ _There’s no time for that now. Tick tock._ ”

“I hate this.” Liam said, throwing the rock away as hard as he could.

“Me too.” Scott steeled himself. “Well, there’s nothing else for it. Let’s go.”

They approached cautiously, looking for signs of danger, but their tails stayed hidden. Liam saw Brett before he saw Lori. He was kneeling, holding something to his chest, crying.

“She’s gone.” He said without looking up. “She’s dead.”

Then Liam saw her. Her whole body was covered in blood, dripping with it. The scent overpowered him, now that he could see where it was coming from.

“I’m so sorry.” Liam said, starting towards Brett, but Scott held him back. “What? We’re already exactly where they want us.” Scott relented and let Liam go. He crouched in front of Brett, tilting his head so he could look at him. “What happened?”

“They killed her just after dawn. They took us after we were hit by the car, then nursed us back to health. I don’t know why, since they just…” Brett looked back down at his sister’s broken body. “At least it was quick. Shot her through the heart.”

“How did she get covered with blood?” Liam asked softly, trying not to cause Brett any more pain as he looked him over for any injuries.

“That was probably my fault.” He whispered, pulling back to let Liam see a broken arrow in his shoulder. “They told me not to pull it out.”

Liam leant forward, pulling Brett into an awkward hug. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t come in time.” _I was sleeping when they killed her, instead of searching._ He thought guiltily.

Brett took in a shuddering breath. “They were going to kill her anyway, Liam. There was nothing you could do.”

“That’s very true.” Gerard said, stepping out of the tree line. “You did a very good job of making everyone afraid of you, Liam.” He continued, holding a gun to Brett’s head. “But your use has run out. You even had the good grace to bring Scott to us.”

“Now, you have to make a choice – are you going to run, and leave Brett to die, or are you going to stay in his stead? Scott will stay where he is, because he doesn’t want you both to die.” Mrs Monroe said, also stepping from the trees, also holding a gun.

“Liam, go. I have nothing left.” Brett pleaded with him. “My pack is gone, my family. You have your friends and family still, your pack. Go.”

Liam was already shaking his head. “No, I’m not leaving you to die. Not like last time.”

“Liam, please.” He insisted, but Liam wasn’t listening.

While trying to support Brett’s weight, Liam started working on prying Brett’s fingers from Lori’s corpse. “Come on, Brett. Live for her.” He kept pulling, but his fingers were slipping in all the blood. “I’ll take care of her.”

“Why don’t we just kill all of them now? Won’t that be easier?” Mrs Monroe asked, rolling her eyes. She aimed at the back of Liam’s head, but Gerard pushed her gun down.

“Oh no, in order to truly win against your opponent, you must break them first. We will crush everything supernatural from the inside out.”

“I still don’t see the point.” She snarled. “They’re monsters. They don’t have feelings.”

Gerard turned to her, eyebrows raised. “All creatures have feelings, even monsters. They care about each other.”

“Still. Is this really necessary?”

“Well, if you want it cut short…you have two minutes to decide.” Gerard relented.

Using one free hand, Brett pushed at Liam. “Go.” His strength was fading, though, and so he barely moved Liam at all. “Go.” He croaked, pushing one last time.

Liam refused to let go of Brett, even though he was pushing him away. “I’m not leaving you again. If only I’d known…Brett, I’m so sorry.”

Just then, violence broke out from the trees. Malia and Parrish burst forth from the trees and kicked away Mrs Monroe and Gerard’s guns. “Run!” Parrish shouted, and Liam picked Brett up as best he could.

“What…?” Brett asked, dumbfounded.

Liam smirked. “We knew it was a trap, silly. We called for backup when we figured out where you’d be. I was just biding time until they got here.”

Scott came up next to Brett, on the opposite side to Liam and helped take his weight. “We had a plan. Malia and Parrish should be joining us soon.”

They reached Stiles’ Jeep, jumped in and started it, driving away. Liam held Brett and Lori in the back seat. “It’s going to be okay, Brett. We’re going to be okay.”


	3. I'm Sorry

**I’M SORRY**

The knock on Liam’s door came at noon, just after he’d finished cleaning up the kitchen from making lunch. Both of his parents were out, and wouldn’t be back until much later. Curious, Liam opened the door a crack, then threw it wide, for there was a stray dog sitting on his front porch.

“Now where did you come from?” Liam asked, expecting no answer. He saw a collar, and looked for an address or a name, but… “Here? You don’t live here. Besides, this tag is new…”

Bringing the dog inside, Liam sat down and contemplated it while eating his lunch.

After lunch, he still had nothing. “Hmm. Well, I guess I’ll keep you for tonight, but you can’t stay here.”

A while later, Liam had an idea. Maybe someone had left something in the post box. Jumping up, he looked, but there was nothing. Disappointed and even more confused than before, he trudged back inside, the puppy trotting behind him.

Liam had to admit the little guy was cute, but there was no way he could keep a puppy; puppies got big.

Even later in the evening, Liam heard a knock on his door. Expecting his parents, Liam rushed to open the door, but it wasn’t his parents.

“Lori?” Liam asked, stunned for the second time that day. “What are you doing here?”

Lori sighed. “Brett just told me he got you a puppy.” She looked behind Liam and saw him trotting up to the door. “Well, at least it’s a cute puppy.”

“Brett? Why would _he_ get me a puppy? And why not give it to me himself? And why a _puppy_? Why get me _anything_?” Liam was only coming up with questions.

“Well, how about we go inside so I can explain what I know.” Lori suggested, trying to corral the puppy indoors.

Liam nodded numbly, still reeling from the information he’d already received.

Lori sat Liam down at the kitchen table before sitting opposite him. “Okay, Brett told me what happened with the car, and he told me that _he_ was part of the reason you’d done it. He told me he realised this after he’d finished being angry at you.” She shook her head. “Then, like an idiot, he couldn’t just say sorry to your face, so he came up with the _brilliant_ plan to get you a puppy instead. He _was_ going to give it to you in person, but he told me that when he knocked, he freaked out, and just left the puppy there, on your doorstep.”

“A puppy.” Liam repeated numbly.

“Yep.” Lori sighed.

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I would suggest you find him and ask him yourself. He’s going to be at the Devonford field with the team tomorrow, practicing. Sorry about the inconvenience of having to take care of a puppy, Liam.” She shook her head. “Honestly, sometimes, I just don’t know what he’s thinking.”

 

The next day, Liam found Brett exactly where Lori had said he would be.

“Hey, look, it’s the time bomb!” One of his former teammates yelled on the field, loud enough that everyone would hear.

Every head swivelled around, looking for who he was talking about. When they all found Liam, some started walking menacingly towards him, but Brett stopped them all easily.

“Hang on, guys. I’ll deal with this.”

Being their captain, they had to listen to him, and just shrugged, although they threw Liam dirty looks. Brett trotted over, looking somewhat sheepish.

“Hey, Liam.”

“What the hell, Brett?” Liam hissed. “You left a _puppy_ on my doorstep and the best you can come up with is ‘hey, Liam’?”

“I’m trying.” Brett whined. “What do you want me to do?”

“I don’t know. Actually saying sorry would be a good start, Brett. What am I supposed to do with him?”

“Actually, Liam. She’s a girl.”

“Whatever, Brett. It doesn’t matter.” Liam growled, throwing up his hands. “I can’t take care of a freaking puppy, Brett! My parents were beyond bewildered, not to mention angry. I mean, what did you expect to happen?”

“I don’t know. I just thought…I mean, everyone likes puppies, don’t they?”

Liam snarled at Brett. “That’s not the point, Brett.” He tried to calm himself down, but it wasn’t really working. “You know, I could almost strangle you right now. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking that I wanted you to forgive me.” Brett answered, looking on the verge of tears.

“Oh, yeah, that’s how you get forgiveness, Brett. Give someone a freaking _puppy_!” Liam’s voice had risen so the whole team could hear their argument.

“I’m sorry, okay, I just…I don’t know! I didn’t know what else to do!” Brett yelled back.

“Well, what am I supposed to do with her now? Are _you_ going to take her?”

“I…I have too many.”

“What?” Liam snapped.

“Satomi said I had too many puppies. But I just keep rescuing them. The puppy I gave you, she was just abandoned on the street, dirty, starving. I don’t know what to do with them. My local shelter would have put her down, Liam, and I wanted to say sorry, and it seemed like a good idea at the time.” He looked less on the verge of tears, but more distressed.

Liam softened a little too. “Why didn’t you come and ask me, then? I mean, I would still have said no, because I can’t take care of a puppy, but Brett, you just dumped a _puppy_ on my doorstep.”

“I know.” Brett said softly. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, what are we going to do with her now?”

One of the Devonford boys spoke up. “We can always use more.” Liam and Brett looked at him hopefully, and he blushed. “Well, my parents run a puppy farm, all registered and everything. Our original dogs are getting old, though. What kind is she?”

“I’m not entirely sure, but I’m pretty sure she’s a cross. Is that okay?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely. But between what?”

“Something with a sausage dog.” Liam said. There was no mistaking that body shape.

He smiled. “Dachshunds are always popular. They’re really playful. I can come get her after practice.” He nodded before running back onto the field.

“Come on, Brett!” The other guys called.

“Gotta go.” Brett said, smiling apologetically.

“It’s okay. I’ll wait.” Liam said, trotting over to the benches.

 

When practice had finished, Liam, Brett and the other team member piled into the car.

“I don’t know you.” Liam said. “I’m Liam.”

“Uh, yeah, I’m new. My name’s Justin.”

“Justin. Nice to meet you.” Liam replied, shaking his hand awkwardly from the front seat.

Brett started driving them to Liam’s house. “Hey, so why were the team acting like that? Did you do something?”

Liam winced. “Uh, yeah.”

Catching the look Brett gave him, he stopped talking. “Don’t worry about it, Justin. It doesn’t matter.”

“It was bad, wasn’t it?” Justin sounded nervous.

“I said leave it, Justin.” Brett’s tone was dangerous, and Justin fell silent in the back. The silence remained until they got to Liam’s house.

“I’ll get her for you.” Liam said, already halfway out of the car. As he opened the door, the puppy came rushing towards the door, where Liam caught her up in his arms. “Here you are, girl.”

When he got back to the car, he passed her to Justin, who avoided touching his hands. He hugged her to his chest.

“Where am I taking you, Justin?” Brett said, decidedly more cheerful then he had been.

 

“You didn’t need to scare him like that, Brett.” Liam protested when Justin had disappeared inside.

Brett frowned. “I know, but it…the incident wasn’t all your fault. I let them do that to you.”

Liam shook his head. “You didn’t know.”

“I should have seen it sooner, done something. I should have seen…something.” He finished lamely, shoulders sagging. “I’m sorry, Liam. Really, I am. If only I’d known.”

“What would you have done? They would have just done it behind your back, Brett. Besides, I didn’t tell you. It was partly my fault too.”

“We’re all to blame.” Brett turned to Liam. “Which is why I’m sorry. I thought you should know…when I found out about what they’d done, I made them run laps until they puked.”

“And what did _you_ do?” Liam asked quietly.

“The same thing, but the night before.” Brett licked his lips. “Liam, I-“

“I don’t want them to suffer because of me. Because _you_ thought they should be punished for what they did. It…wasn’t good, but they’ll just hate you behind your back now, for taking my side.” Liam sighed. “You can hear through the walls. What do they say when you leave the locker room?”

“The same things they’ve always said; gossip, how practice went.”

“And when you leave the field?”

“Liam…”

“They talk about you, don’t they? About how you’ve taken my side, about how you should _always_ be angry with me for destroying coach’s car.”

“Liam.” Brett started again, but Liam cut him off.

“They don’t invite you out after matches anymore, do they? They just leave you on the sideli-“

“Liam!” Liam jumped, looking at Brett. “Would you just listen for a minute?”

Liam nodded mutely.

“I don’t care if they hate me for taking your side. But it’s not taking sides, Liam. It’s empathy. I can see where you’re all coming from. Justin, you, the rest of the team. I didn’t make anyone who didn’t have anything to do with it run. But I ran the furthest, the hardest, because I was the one who felt worst about it, Liam.” Looking Liam’s face over, he leaned forward, slowly, allowing Liam time to pull away. He didn’t. “I’m sorry.” He whispered against Liam’s lips before kissing them gently.

Liam drew in a shuddering breath when they parted. “Why did you do that?” He whispered.

“Because I wanted to.” Brett said with a shrug and a smirk. “Why didn’t you pull away?”

“Because I wanted you to kiss me.” Liam breathed, afraid that if he moved, this would all prove to be a dream.

“Did you want me to do it again?” Brett asked softly.

“Oh god yes.”

Brett moved forward again, sliding his hands over Liam’s cheeks, pulling him closer. Their kisses stayed slow and deliberate, so they could feel every single contact individually.

“I hope you’re not planning to have our first time in your car.” Liam said when Brett’s hands found their way under his shirt.

“Of course not.” Brett replied with a smirk. “But I am going to take you on a date. Next Saturday sound okay?”

“Definitely.” Liam agreed, pulling Brett back down for more kisses.


	4. Anniversary

**ANNIVERSARY**

It had only been a few weeks since Liam had left Beacon Hills to be with his alpha on their crusade to stop Monroe and Gerard, but already, he was planning a trip back. Now, it was time to tell Scott what he was going to do.

“What? Why do you want to go back there?” Scott asked, half-distracted by someone else’s problems. “Liam, we need you here.”

“I know, but this is important, Scott. I need to be there.” Liam insisted.

Scott sighed, finally turning to face Liam. “For what? What do you need to be in Beacon Hills for? Can’t it wait?”

“No, it can’t.” Liam answered, folding his arms. “And even if it could, how long would it be waiting for?” He gestured to the room around him. “These aren’t even all the supernaturals you’ve taken under your wing. You’re trying to protect people who aren’t fighters – I mean, how many banchees do we have in our ranks now? How often do they wake screaming? How long is this war going to last?” He shook his head. “If you just stopped thinking about that for a second, you’d remember exactly why I have to go back now.”

Sighing, Scott sat down on the nearest cot, jostling the occupant. “Sorry,” he whispered gently, and the coyote rolled over to go back to sleep. “Okay, I’m paying attention, Liam. What’s so important?”

Folding his arms and pursing his lips, Liam waited.

“Okay, you want me to remember by myself.” He sat motionless for a minute. “Liam, I don’t remember.” He said eventually. “I have…so much to do. Can’t you just tell me?”

Liam swallowed thickly. “I thought you cared about every life, Scott.”

“What? I do. Liam – oh.”

“You remember them now?” Liam spat at him. “They might just be another body to you, Scott, but I’ll never forget. Not them, not Sean, not any of them. Do you remember Sean? Sean Walcott? I went to primary school with him. He wasn’t particularly nice, but he didn’t make fun of me for my issues, and I appreciated that. I remember them.” He started to walk away, but turned back. “I’m going whether you want me to or not, Scott.”

 

On the train back to Beacon Hills, Liam felt bad for snapping at his alpha; they were both under a lot of stress, and it _had_ been a whole year since Brett and Lori had died. He sighed and settled down into his seat, readying himself for a long ride.

Just before the train departed, Scott showed up. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I’m sorry for not remembering, Liam.”

“Train’s leaving, sir! You can’t be on without a ticket.”

“Just a second.” Scott said hurriedly over his shoulder. “Tell them I said hi.”

“I’m sorry too.” Liam said just before Scott was pulled away by the shoulder.

An older man in the opposite aisle turned to face Liam. “I’m sure it’ll all work out between you. He seems to really care about you.” He shifted his eyes meaningfully. “It’s not too late to disembark.”

Liam shook his head. “No, I’m not going to do that. It’s the anniversary of a friend’s death. I need to go to their graves.”

“Ah, sorry. Not your boyfriend, then?” The man said sheepishly.

Smiling, Liam moved to sit on the same bench as the man. “No. More like a brother than anything else.” Before Liam knew what he was doing, he’d told him a human-friendly version of the story. “Even with all of us trying to save him, he still died…and his sister with him. It was just so…unfair. It should have been me. I should have been hit instead of him. I should have checked first, should have…I should have saved him. Them. Them both.”

His shoulders slumped, his head hung heavy and his chest hurt as if he’d been stabbed.

“It sounds like you really cared about him.” The man observed.

Liam shrugged. “I guess, yeah. I just wish we’d been closer while he was still alive. That stupid rivalry kept a chasm between us.” A lump rose in his throat, but he did his best to swallow it down. “I wish we’d hung out together, talked more. But I was too proud, too scared, to ask.”

“Scared?” The man seemed surprised. “You don’t seem like someone who’s scared of much.” He gestured to the train. “Here we are, in the open, and you’re showing a complete stranger a lot of vulnerability.”

“Should I be scared of you?” Liam asked, now suddenly wary.

The man laughed. “Oh no, young man. I’m just saying that it takes a lot of courage to do that.”

“Oh, well, thanks.” Liam mumbled.

It was then that Beacon Hills was called. “Well, that’s my stop. It was nice meeting you…er…”

“Harris. Harris Chad.” The man said, extending his hand, which Liam shook.

“Nice to meet you Harris. My name’s Liam.”

“Nice to meet you too, Liam.”

They waved goodbye as Liam stepped off the train.

 

His parents were somewhat surprised to see Liam after he’d only been away for a short while, but they welcomed him home all the same. Liam was grateful that they didn’t ask any questions of him either, but that may have been due to his decidedly melancholy mood.

The day after he got home, he went shopping for a few things before walking to the graveyard, as his parents were busy and had taken the car. His feet dragged as he approached the site of their graves.

When he saw their names, it felt like he’d been hit by a train. It was as if they’d just died in front of him again. He sank to his knees before them, blinking back tears, but no matter how hard he tried, they just came back.

“I’m so sorry.” He mumbled through the tears. His voice was thick, muffled by the constricting of his throat.

Hours passed as he knelt there, and his knees slowly went numb, but still he stayed. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it. He supposed it was his mother, wondering where he was, but he just couldn’t look away from their graves.

_It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t sent them away, they’d still be here, helping us fight. They’d be alive._

He started to think about what could have been.

_We would have eventually gotten together, I hope. Been lovers for a while. It probably wouldn’t have worked out, but it would have been all passion and hot sex. We would have had a quick romance, filled with lust, and it would have fizzled out, but I would still love him, just a little, deep down. I’d never show him, though, because he’d have settled down with some really pretty girl, had kids, hoping to grow old with her, and I wouldn’t want to take that away from him._

_I’d eventually find someone else too, maybe another guy, maybe a girl, but they’d never be him, but that would be okay, because they had their own quirks that I would love._

_I would visit him, really late in life, just to tell him how much I still loved him, and missed him. He’d be so shocked. We’d kiss one last time, and then we’d die, happy, of old age._

_That’s the life we deserved, Brett. As for Lori, she would have settled down early with a husband, had a couple of kids, one werewolf, one normal, and she would raise them well, teach them to be Buddhist like her and her brother. Everyone in the neighbourhood would have loved her, and her angels of children._

A foreign thought pushed into his head.

_That husband would have been you, Liam._

A different voice this time; _and that romance between us would have lasted longer. A few years, maybe, but you’d eventually stop loving me and start loving Lori instead._

They spoke together this time. _But you need to let us go, Liam. It wasn’t your fault. You tried your best. Go and live your life, and when it’s your time, we’ll all be together, and we’ll welcome you here._


	5. Brett's Birthday

**BRETT’S BIRTHDAY**

Brett turned on the light to his apartment, just wanting to go to bed.

“Surprise!” A group of about twenty people shouted.

Jumping, Brett almost fell backwards through the still-open door he’d just come through, but he caught himself just in time. “What…what is this?”

“Your birthday.” Said Scott, walking forward. “Liam thought you might need cheering up, and he remembered today is your birthday, so we organised a surprise birthday.”

“Liam?” Brett asked, scanning the crowd. Finding him, Brett strode forward and dragged Liam into his room.

“Oh, hey, Brett. Is something wrong?” Liam asked, looking puzzled.

Brett scowled. “Yes, there is something wrong, Liam. How did you get twenty people into my apartment? Why? I mean, that seems pretty dangerous, don’t you think?”

“Well, Lori let us in, and we thought it would cheer you up. With all that…the deadpool and everything.”

“The deadpool is exactly why it’s dangerous, Liam. Did you forget that two of your friends were trying to kill me? Who knows how many of these people are here to kill us?”

Liam shook his head. “No, these people won’t hurt us. They’re _your_ teammates. I think they may try to hurt me, but not you. They only came because it’s you.”

“You survived an encounter with my teammates?” Brett asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah. They seemed surprised to see me at the head of a party for you, though.”

Brett relaxed a little. “Well, alright, but it really seems like you didn’t think this through, Liam.” He pulled open the door, then realised he was still in his work clothes.

Liam blinked in surprise as Brett started stripping his shirt off. “Wh-what are you doing?” He asked, going towards the door.

“Changing.” Brett answered simply, then glanced over to Liam. He snorted. “You don’t have to look if you don’t want to, dork.”

Nodding, Liam turned to go, but for some reason, decided to look back over his shoulder. He only caught a glimpse, but what he saw was taught, firm muscle. Gasping, he turned back around and left hastily.

When Brett had finished changing, he went back to join the party, where he was immediately snatched up by a couple of his teammates who urged him to drink a few cups of alcohol. Even though it wouldn’t do anything for him, Brett drank what they gave him, talking and laughing.

“Hey, I’ll get back to you guys.” He said, extracting himself from their circle, which had grown to include all of his teammates.

He sidled up to Liam. “Hey, you were right.” He said, giving Liam a gentle nudge. “This did make me feel better.”

Liam smiled up at Brett. “I’m glad.” He wrinkled his nose. “That beer?”

“Yeah. Not the best, but it’s what the team gave me.” He looked at the table behind Liam hopefully. “Got any cold water?”

“Nah, sorry. We’ve got some soda if you want, though.” Liam shrugged. “But I mean, it’s your house; you know where to get water.”

“Ah, I’ll wait.” He shifted his stance, so he was a little further away from Liam. “Thanks, Liam.”

Liam blushed. “It’s all good. I’m just happy it made you feel better.” He hesitated.

“What?”

“I have something else that may make you feel a bit better, but I don’t want to give it to you in front of all these people, and I know cake’s coming soon.” Liam gushed, almost too quickly for Brett to follow.

“Well, we don’t want to miss cake, do we?” Brett laughed. “Did you make it yourself?”

Liam ducked his head. “Yes.” He waved his hands around. “But it’s not like…my _best_ …it was just…I made it last night.”

“I’m sure it’ll be delicious, Liam.”

“Happy birthday to you,” everyone started singing. “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear Brett. Happy birthday to you.”

A giant chocolate cake came from the kitchen and landed on the table behind Liam and Brett. Brett turned, and a knife was pressed into his hand. From across the room, Lori shouted; “If you touch the bottom, you have to kiss the closest person!”

Brett rolled his eyes and just cut the cake, touching the bottom, and everyone urged him to kiss the closest person.

 _Oh, what the hell_? He thought, and looked around. Liam was the closest person, frozen to the spot. Brett smiled and leaned down. Liam cringed, so Brett just planted a kiss on his cheek.

“There. Is everyone happy now?” Brett said, looking at them all. God, he was so happy.

 

After the party, Liam stayed to help clean up. Brett had gotten a pile of presents, but it was Liam’s he was looking forward to most.

“Well,” Liam said finally. “I suppose it’s time…” He pulled a small box out of his pocket. Reluctantly, he passed it to Brett.

Brett opened it, and found a necklace inside; a black leather chain with a silver pendant. On the pendant was Brett’s birthstone – he didn’t really believe in all that stuff, but Lori was really into it – and some engraved words; _the sun, the moon, the truth_. The words went around the stone in a circle.

“Wow. Liam, thank you. Lori helped you too, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, it’s from us. Well, she designed it, I paid for it, so…”

Slowly, Brett pulled the necklace out and hung it around his neck. “It’s really nice, Liam.” He looked up and, seeing Lori smiling at them, pulled Liam back into his bedroom.

“What? What are we doing?” Liam asked, stunned.

Brett shushed him with a smile. “Lori was looking at us.”

“Oh.” Liam said simply, then shook his head. “Wait…why does that matter?”

“Because I want to ask you something.” He took a deep breath. “Liam, can I kiss you?”

Brett heard Liam’s heart start to pound, saw his pupils blow wider, his lips part in surprise. “I…yes.”

Leaning down, still giving Liam plenty of chance to pull away, Brett closed the distance between them. When he got to within a few inches, though, Liam lunged forward, taking Brett by surprise this time. Liam wrapped his arms behind Brett’s neck, pushing his hands into his hair, pulling him closer.

“Finally.” Liam breathed as they pulled apart. He smiled at Brett. “I’ve waited so long to do that.”

“Well, now it’s happened, what are you going to do?” Brett asked, smirking.

“Do it again until you tell me to stop.” Liam replied, pushing their mouths together again. Brett was more than happy for that to be the outcome. He picked Liam up and dropped him onto his bed, where they kissed each other until the very end of Brett’s birthday…and maybe some after, too.


	6. Wasted Days

**WASTED DAYS**

Liam woke up feeling awful. His head pounded, his nose ran and his throat hurt like he’d been swallowing gravel by the fistful.

His first task was to call the head office and try to explain to them as best he could with a croaky voice that he was sick, but then he texted his boyfriend.

He and Brett had been dating for the last three months and, when Liam wasn’t moody, it was the most wondrous thing he’d ever experienced. Brett was a loving, caring person, who was always there right when Liam needed him. He was also a werewolf.

Liam had been surprised when Brett had told him, but Brett had felt that Liam needed to know (or so he told Liam) and so he’d started teaching Liam everything about them.

Utterly fascinated by everything Brett told him, Liam looked forward to every meeting so he could find out more; more about werewolves, but also more about Brett himself. Even though he was still young, he knew that Brett was the one he was going to marry.

 _One day_ , Liam thought wistfully.

His phone pinged with a message from Brett. _I’m coming now._ Was all it said.

 _No, don’t._ Liam replied quickly.

_I’m a werewolf, remember, I never get sick. Which means I’ve never taken a sick day off at school. Which, in turn, means that they’ll allow me one day to spend with my sick boyfriend, making him feel better. Besides, you’re sick, which means you’re not allowed to argue. I’m coming over. Are you going to be a good patient?_

Liam sighed, but he was smiling. _Yes, Nurse Brett_. He sent back, and a reply came quickly.

_Good ;) See you soon._

 

There was a murmuring of voices that alerted Liam to the presence of someone just outside his door. He rolled over to look at it, but his head pounded too much to actually get up and open the door. Luckily, he didn’t have to; Brett opened it himself, slowly, to allow Liam time to notice someone was there – or tell him to go away.

“Hey,” Brett said softly, stepping into the room and closing the door behind himself. “How you doing?”

“Fucking awful.” Liam sniffled, drawing a tissue from the box beside his bed.

Brett sat on the edge of the bed and smoothed his hand over Liam’s forehead. “Oh, yeah, you’re running a fever.” He frowned sympathetically. “Can I get you anything?”

“Cold wader would be nice.”

“Okay.” Brett stood and left Liam’s circle of perception, returning with a glass of water, clinking quietly with ice.

“Thanks, Bredd.” Liam mumbled, sitting up a little to drink.

“That’s okay.” Brett sat back down again, and Liam moved over a little.

Liam smiled up at Brett innocently. “I know you can’t get sick, so can you come and give me cuddles?” He asked, using his puppy dog eyes.

Brett sighed, but smirked as he slid under the covers with Liam and wrapped his arm around him. “That better?”

Nodding, Liam snuggled into his boyfriend’s side. “I love you.” He said, right before slipping back into sleep.

Brett stiffened. _Did I just hear that? We’ve only been dating three months. Does he want me to say it back? Do I love him? Did he mean it? Wait- is he asleep now? What do I do if he remembers when he wakes up? What do I do if he doesn’t?_

Liam moaned and threw his arm over Brett’s body. “Stop thinking and just go to sleep.” He mumbled from the corner of his mouth.

“But…you said…”

Getting annoyed, Liam rose his head. “I know whad I said, Bredd, and I meand id. I love you.” He sighed. “And I’m nod worried if you don’d say id doo.”

“You sound funny with a blocked nose.” Brett said with a smile.

Liam scowled, but seemed happier than before. “Nod like you’ll ever have one, asshole.”

“That is very true.” Liam started tucking himself in again, but Brett jostled him. “I just wanted to say, Liam, I love you too.”

Smiling, Liam pushed himself up on his elbow so he could peck Brett on the lips. “Goodnighd.”

“Goodnight, Liam.”


	7. I Do

**I DO**

Liam opened the ring box again, and took a deep, steadying breath. _I’m doing this_. He thought with conviction. _I’m doing it tonight._

He’d been planning how to propose for weeks now. The ring had been like a hundred-pound weight in his pocket for all that time. He took it everywhere with him, hoping for inspiration.

 _What if he says no?_ Liam worried, just like he did every time he thought about really doing it.

 _He won’t. He loves me, just like I love him. He won’t say no._ Liam told himself firmly as he knocked on the door.

It opened immediately, a smiling Brett just inside the door. “Hey, Liam. How was work?”

“Yeah, not too bad. I’m actually enjoying my language studies too.”

“Didn’t expect to?” Brett asked, snaking his arms around Liam’s waist as he dropped the groceries on the counter.

“No.”

Brett kissed the back of Liam’s neck. “Do they teach you anything in those paper studies?”

“Honestly, not really. But without them, I couldn’t have a job as well as doing lacrosse stuff, so I’m not complaining.” He turned around and gave Brett a kiss. “So how have you been? Must be lonely, with me being away all semester.”

Shrugging, Brett sat him down. “I manage somehow.”

“Haven’t been sleeping around, have you?”

Brett paused, and Liam’s heart started to pound. “Not that I can remember.”

Liam slapped his shoulder. “God, don’t freak me out like that.”

“Sorry, Liam. It’s too much fun. But you know I’d never go behind your back. I love you too much.”

Liam took a deep breath. _It’s time to do this_. “Do you love me enough to marry me?”

Brett snorted. “Haven’t we only been dating for just over a year, Liam? You can’t be serious.”

“Can’t I?”

Stopping in the middle of pulling out plates for dinner, Brett turned to Liam, the shock plain on his face. “What? You’re really serious?”

“Really, really.” Liam said, pulling out the ring.

“Wow. I can’t believe…”

“Well, what do you say?”

“Yes. God, yes, Liam. Of course.” He said, stepping forward and grasping Liam’s hands in his own. “I just…are you sure?”

“Yes. I’ve wanted to do this since, like, three months ago.”

Brett laughed and picked Liam up. “Well, what do you want to do? Are you too hungry to have sex right now?”

“Hell no.” Liam pulled Brett in for some kisses. “I’m ready for anything you can do.”

“Oh, anything?” Brett asked cheekily, taking Liam into the bedroom. “We’ll see about that, won’t we?”


	8. From Me To You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance for how sad this one is, guys.

**FROM ME TO YOU**

The day was bright and sunny, directly opposing Brett’s mood. He wanted it to rain, to make his day even more miserable.

_I should have noticed. Why didn’t I notice the second he was gone?_

The grave he knelt in front of was new – too new. It had only been a few months since his passing. Brett had spent the last few weeks visiting all the graves of those who had died in the deadpool; his pack and friends. Yesterday, he had seen this one as he’d walked through the graves, and had been so thoroughly crushed, he’d fallen to his knees.

“No.” He’d whispered, crawling closer to see if it was true. It was. There was his name, engraved into the tombstone, along with a date – just after the death of the Walcott family. “No.”

There was so much he’d wanted to tell him – that he was sorry, mostly. “No, no.” His breathing had become ragged, his eyes misty with tears. “No, no, no, this isn’t right.” He had reached out, started pawing at the gravestone, trying to make the text go away. Then, he’d started clawing at the freshly moved earth, trying to dig down, see into his coffin, to look at his face.

Hands had pulled at his shoulders. “Stop it!” They’d said sharply.

Brett had looked up into their face. It was his mother, Liam’s mother. “But…it’s not him, is it? He’s not really down there. He can’t be.”

“He is.” She had said sadly, kneeling next to him and pushing the dirt back into place. “Bitten by a rabid animal.” She had shaken her head. “I didn’t even know there _were_ rabid animals around here. I guess it just goes to show you can never be too careful, doesn’t it?”

As soon as Brett had heard this, he knew what had happened. He had stood up and walked out of the graveyard, straight to Scott’s place.

He had pounded on the door, and when it had opened, he pulled him out, onto the street. “It’s your fault!” He had screamed at him.

“What is?”

“Liam. What happened? Tell me!” He’d roared in his face, making Scott flinch.

“I’ll tell you, just come inside and calm down.”

Breathing heavily, Brett had done as he was asked, and Scott had sat him down in the living room. “I didn’t have a choice, Brett. He would have died either way.”

“What do you mean?” Brett’s patience was already wearing thin.

Scott had sighed. “Liam…I had accidentally broken his ankle, he was at the hospital when…when the mute came in and killed Sean, but Sean had attacked Liam beforehand, and Liam was dangling from the roof. I was trying to save him. He died from the bite.”

“I know that last part.” Brett had snapped, glaring at Scott. “It really is all your fault. You were the one who broke his ankle, so he would have been okay if you’d just…” Brett had gotten up and left.

Now, Brett looked down at the still-fresh soil of Liam’s grave. He’d seen people die of the bite. It wasn’t a pretty thing to witness. They screamed and cried as the saliva reacted poorly with their blood and practically boiled them alive. _Liam would have been in pain._ Brett thought guiltily.

 _I should have been there._ His hands found the dirt again, and he lowered himself to lie on top of Liam’s grave. _I’m so sorry, Liam. I wish I’d been there. I wish I’d been able to hold you, take away your pain. I wish I’d been able to say goodbye._

His tears soaked the ground where he lay, turning the dirt into mud.

 

He wasn’t aware of time passing, but eventually, a shadow fell across him. “Sorry, kid.” A gruff voice spoke above him. “We’re closing the gates. We can’t have anyone around here at night.”

Brett ignored him.

The man sighed and sat next to him. “It was sad, this kid’s burial. I had to dig his grave, you know? I’m always on the night shift, have to dig everyone’s graves. But I made a point of coming to his. Only sixteen.” He shook his head. “Such a waste of life.” He turned to Brett. “So you knew him?”

Brett nodded mutely.

“So, was he sweet? He looked like he would have been a nice kid.”

“He was angry. A little ball of anger, but he had a big heart, too. He tried to help everyone.”

The man nodded and looked out across the graveyard. “Well, if you don’t want to leave, maybe, if you promise to stay here, I can let you stay.”

“Thank you. I won’t move from here.”

He nodded sadly. “Well, alright, then. Just so long as you’re gone by tomorrow night, kid. I won’t be so lenient then.”

“I understand.” Brett said flatly, going back to zoning out, thinking about Liam.

 

He hadn’t even been aware of going to sleep, but when he woke up, it was to a light drizzle. Stiff from the night in the cold, he decided not to move. It was just barely light – probably about six or seven in the morning. Slowly, he shifted himself back into a seated position. Everything ached.

 _But mostly my heart,_ he thought as he assessed his physical condition. He closed his eyes again. His dreams had been mercifully absent last night; usually he dreamed of everyone around him dying.

Brett sat, now silent. He heard something off to his left, and looked up to see Scott and a man he didn’t know.

“Go away, Scott.” Brett snarled. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“I know, but I want to show you…show you what happened.” Scott knelt next to him, and nodded to the other man. “I can’t do it, but Peter can.”

Peter stepped up behind the two boys. “Ready?”

“Yes.” Scott said, and Brett couldn’t help himself; he had to know. He nodded, then felt Peter’s claws slide into the back of his neck.

 

_There was a white hallway, and his mother’s screams echoing down it. He raced towards her, saw her lying on the floor, but unhurt._

_“Go and get him. I’m okay.” She said dimly, as if in the background._

_He nodded and pushed onward, follow the raw scent of hunger. His pace doubled when he heard Liam’s voice. A memory flashed of him talking to Liam in the locker room, asking about why he transferred schools. He felt regret flash through him as he remembered Malia announcing a wager, one coach took._

_Wincing at the memory of the sound of bone cracking, he ran now, going up to the roof, where he saw Liam trying to fend off a boy with white eyes and sharp teeth._

_He fought the boy, but Liam slipped, hanging onto the edge of the hospital. He tried so hard to hold on, but he couldn’t fight the boy and help Liam as well. He let go – just for a second, sure Liam could hold on for just that second. But Liam was slipping. What else could he do? Steeling himself for the consequences, he extended his fangs and bit down on Liam’s wrist, making him scream._

_After it was all over, Liam was whimpering in pain, confused and scared. Not knowing what else to do, he took Liam home, tied him up, and called for Stiles to help him._

_“It’s not right. The pain isn’t going away.” He said, panic-stricken. “What are we going to do? He’s dying.”_

_“Yeah, I can tell, Scott, I don’t need you to remind me every five minutes.” Stiles snapped._

_“Well, you’re the one with all the plans. What do we do?” He asked, pacing endlessly. “We need to tell his parents.”_

_“No, no, Scott. That is a terrible idea. What do we tell them? The truth?”_

_“No.”_

_“Then you’re going to be able to lie to them?”_

_“No.” He sat down heavily on the couch, head in his hands. Liam was upstairs, lying on his bed, dying, and it was his fault._

_With his wolf hearing, he heard Liam moan in pain, and stood, rushing upstairs so he could take as much of the pain as possible._

_“Scott, you can’t keep doing that. You’re going to kill yourself. You’re taking too much.”_

_“No, you don’t know anything about it, Stiles.” He snapped, pushing him away. Stiles stared at him, shocked. “You can’t feel this. His pain is mine. I did this.”_

_Liam’s eyes looked about him wildly. “Mason.” He whined, looking about for his friend._

_“We don’t know who that is, Liam. We’re so sorry. What do you want us to do?”_

_“They can’t know.” Liam answered, his eyes rolling listlessly in his head. “They can’t know. Don’t tell them.”_

_“Okay, we won’t. We won’t tell anyone, Liam.” He pulled Liam’s hand into his, making Liam’s gaze roll over to him. “We’re going to try to take the pain away, okay?”_

_Liam nodded, wincing in pain. A wrenching feeling took him through the chest, squeezing tears from his eyes. “I’m never biting anyone again, not even to save them.” He vowed, gripping Liam’s hand tight. He could feel the strains of himself, his wolf, tearing Liam apart from the inside out. Liam just wasn’t strong enough – didn’t have the right blood in his veins._

_“No, no, Liam, please, look at me.” He said as Liam’s eyes shut. Liam was crying from the sheer pain of it. He was so close. Already, his hands were growing cold in his grip._

_His lips started to turn blue, and as he died, memories came flooding into his brain – memories of his childhood, of learning how to play lacrosse._

_The images began to scatter as Brett pushed himself out and away from them. He clawed at their connection, unable to take it anymore._

Brett fell to the ground, gasping for breath. His tears came back, even worse this time. He couldn’t breathe through them. They choked him as he scrambled away from Scott.

“No, no.” He screeched when Scott reached out to comfort him. His hands shook from the pain ripping through his chest. Dully, he noticed Peter gasping for breath, tears in his eyes too.

Slowly, Peter straightened and pulled Scott away from Brett. “If I’d known…” He growled, his voice faltering. “If I’d known what it was you were going to show him, I never would have agreed, Scott.”

“What?” Scott asked, clearly shocked by the sight of Peter being upset.

He shook Scott roughly. “That pain you felt as he was dying; it’s worse for us. You were bitten, Scott. We were born this way. It hurts so much more when someone innocent dies because of a bite – because of us.”

Brett was barely listening. He crawled into the gravestones, near the trees, and pulled himself up on one of them. The pain reverberated through his body, tearing him up just as it had Liam. His wolf cried and scratched at him, wailing for retribution. Feeling a howl grow in his throat, he tipped his head back and let it go.

He felt Scott’s desire to join him in his pain, and readied to whirl on him, rip his throat out, but Peter clamped his hand over his mouth. “Don’t you dare.” He snarled at him.

When his breath had run out, Brett sank to his knees. Scott crawled over to him. “I’m so sorry.” He whispered. “I didn’t know.” He reached out again, but Brett pulled away.

“No! No, don’t you dare touch me. How could you? I know I agreed, but how could I say no? He was…he didn’t deserve that.” He shook his head. “How could you show me that?”

“I’m so sorry.” Scott said again in answer. He shook from head to toe. “I’m so sorry.” He laid back onto the fallen leaves and grass. “Kill me if you want. I deserve it.”

Brett rolled on top of him, straddling his waist, and drew his claws out. Scott closed his eyes, ready to die, but Brett just couldn’t. Instead, he ran his claws over Scott’s cheek, hard enough to leave a mark, but it healed almost immediately. Anguished, Brett did it again, then again, and again. Finally, he stood and left Scott lying in the dirt.

Huddling against the pain still radiating from his heart, he staggered home, carrying Liam’s last moments with him.


	9. Do I Have To?

**DO I HAVE TO?**

Brett scowled as he handed in their tickets.

“Oh, come, on Brett! It’ll be fun!” Lori told him for the hundredth time that morning.

“I’m certain it won’t be, Lori.” Brett insisted. He didn’t have any arguments as to _why_ it wouldn’t be fun, he was just absolutely positive it wouldn’t be. How could it be fun? It was a _fair_.

“But they’ll have some scary stuff too!” Lori insisted. “And kissing booths!” She announced, pointing at a bright pink sign just inside the gates.

Brett’s scowl deepened. Kissing booths were for ugly ten-year-old boys and old men. Noticing this, Lori pulled him over to the sign. “Read it.” She demanded and, rolling his eyes, Brett did.

 _KISSING BOOTH!_ It announced in bold, swirly writing. _TODAY ONLY!_ It continued. _BOYS AND GIRLS WELCOME TO ATTEND! 7AM-9AM, VERNON BOYD AND ERICA REED. 9AM-11AM, DEREK HALE AND CORA HALE. 11AM-1PM, MASON HEWITT AND LYDIA MARTIN. 1PM-3PM, LIAM DUNBAR AND SYDNEY CASSANOVA. 3PM-5PM, STILES STILINSKI AND KIRA YIKAMURA._

“Okay, so they have both boys and girls, but that doesn’t change that it’s lame.” Brett said, even though he was secretly intrigued. He knew Derek and Cora from the news. When their family had died in the fire, it had been all over the place. They wouldn’t stop talking about it on the local news- such a tragedy.

The rest were a complete mystery to him. Beacon Hills was a small place, so there weren’t many people Brett didn’t know, but Mason, Liam, Sydney and Kira were all completely unknown to him. He knew Stiles from lacrosse, and Vernon and Erica were almost always at Sinema – especially since Erica had found make-up.

Lydia was well-known for throwing the best parties and Brett, being as attractive and popular as he was, was always invited.

“I can tell you’re interested.” Lori said with a knowing smirk. “I’m meeting some friends. You can go and spend the day at the kissing booth, gathering up the courage to stand in the line to kiss one of those boys.”

“This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?” Brett asked suspiciously.

“To dump you somewhere?” Lori smiled sweetly. “Of course not.” She smiled and waved at someone behind Brett. “Okay, well, see you later.”

Signing, Brett started to walk in the direction of the kissing booth. What other choice did he have?

 

It was getting close to one, and Liam was getting anxious. “Look at all those people.” He whined to Mason. “I can’t believe you got me to agree to this, Mason. This was a horrible idea. Besides, look at them all – they’re all twelve-year-old girls.”

Mason clapped him on the shoulder. “Exactly. And we’re fourteen and definitely not going to get kissed any other way. Besides, it’s for charity.”

Liam narrowed his eyes. “Since when do you care about charity?”

“We’ve already had this conversation, Liam, and it got us nowhere. It doesn’t matter if I care about it or not. It’s still a good deed, and will get me in my parents’ good books so I can go away with Nathan next week.”

“Oh, so _that’s_ why you dragged me out here? So I could help you spend time with your low-key boyfriend?”

Mason shrugged. “And go another step further in convincing my parents I’m straight.”

Liam sighed and shook his head. “Why do I always listen to your ideas? Even worse, why do I go with them?”

When Mason didn’t answer, Liam scowled at him. Mason was a million miles away, though. He was staring, open-mouthed, at one of the people in line. The clock chimed for one o’clock, signalling the start of Mason’s turn. As he moved out of the way, Liam peeked out, trying to spot who could have elicited that reaction from Mason.

He spotted him almost immediately. His mouth went dry. Liam had never been attracted to boys before, but this was no boy – he was a god. His lightly bronzed skin was perfectly offset by his green blue eyes, which Liam could see from where he was. He currently wore a deep scowl, but Liam was sure that if he smiled, he would be absolutely drop-dead gorgeous.

Hurriedly pulling himself back into the tent, Liam panted. It hadn’t slipped his notice that he was in the line to kiss a boy. He hoped that Mason wouldn’t get to him; he wanted his first kiss of the day – his first kiss in general – to be with those perfect lips.

 

Brett saw a blonde head poking out of the tent. He tried not to look, but his eyes were drawn to him. Before he could get a really good, look, though, he’d already slipped back into the tent. He hoped that that was the next guy. He’d just stepped into the line to kiss a boy, having had the chance to kiss Cora Hale. She was a pretty girl, but not anywhere near as attractive as the boy he’d just seen. He’d looked to be at least thirteen, maybe older, but it was hard to tell because he was so short. Brett himself already towered over the rest of the crowd, even though in human years, he wasn’t much older than fifteen himself.

The boy had had piercing blue eyes, a pouty mouth and creamy white skin. Even though he’d only caught a glimpse, he longed for more. The boy who was currently at the booth was a young dark skinned boy, who seemed to be greatly displeased by all the women in line. Brett’s nose wrinkled. Not really his type. He hoped that his two hours passed quickly.

 

Just before Brett reached the front of the line, almost two hours later, a young man came darting down the line. He looked at his watch and swore.

“Did you want to get in before me?” Brett asked.

The young man looked up, surprised. “Uh, yeah, if you don’t mind…” He said, slotting himself in front of Brett. “Thanks.” He said, turning back. Brett took the opportunity to look the man over. He looked to be about seventeen, with soft brown hair and pale skin. His eyes were a soft brown colour.

“No worries, man. Why the hurry?”

“Oh, Mason, his time’s almost up. I’m his boyfriend.” He said, holding a hand out. Abruptly, he shook his head. “Sorry. My name’s Nathan.”

Brett shook Nathan’s hand. “Brett.” He said simply.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Where do you go to school?” He asked, peering at Brett curiously.

“Devonford. I have a scholarship to go there.” He wasn’t sure why he said that, but he felt as though he had to one-up Nathan.

Nathan nodded. “Right.” He turned and looked back at Mason. He was at the front of the line. “Well, my turn.”

Mason looked annoyed, and they had a short argument that Brett tuned out. He was looking at the clock behind them, watching with anticipation as the seconds ticked down. _One minute to go._

The argument continued, Nathan complicating it by trying to kiss Mason with every sentence, but Mason was too upset to be placated by his kisses. _Thirty seconds._

“Well, I’ve paid my dollar for a kiss. I should at least get what I paid for.” Nathan whined, sounding just as upset as Mason was.

“A slap is more what you’re asking for, I think.” Mason snapped.

_Twenty seconds._

“Uh, Mason…”

“What?” Mason scowled at the person who had spoken. Looking up as well, Brett saw the boy he’d seen sticking his head out of the tent before.

“It’s almost my turn, and you’re just arguing.” The timer went off. “See? We need to keep the line moving.”

Brett’s heart started pounding in his chest. He couldn’t wait to feel those lips on his own, to taste them.

Mason glared at the boy, who Brett deduced must be Liam. “Fine.” He huffed, and dragged his boyfriend away from the booth.

Liam moved into his place behind the counter and licked his lips nervously.

“Don’t worry.” Brett said, trying to calm his own nerves. “First time at a kissing booth?”

Eyes never leaving Brett’s face, Liam nodded mutely.

“Well, I happen to be quite skilled at this.” He said, even though he’d only been to this one, today. “You just step up and press your lips to theirs. Doesn’t sound too hard, does it?”

“No.” Liam breathed.

“Well, did you want to try it?” Brett asked, trying to hide his eagerness.

Again, Liam nodded mutely, and they stepped closer to each other. Brett had to lean down, he was so short, but he managed. He stopped just before their lips touched.

“What?” Liam asked softly, eyes searching Brett’s face.

“You’re sure this is okay?” Asked Brett, even though he was at a kissing booth and – what the hell was he doing? _Well, I’m here now, aren’t I?_

“Yeah.” Liam whispered back, stretching himself up onto his tip-toes to meet Brett halfway.

Time stopped for Brett. Before, he hadn’t been touching Liam at all, but he now had an arm around his waist, pulling him up further, even as he leant down more. His left hand came up to touch Liam as well, at first resting on his side, then coming up to be between his shoulder blades.

“Hey, you’ve had more than your turn.” A girl whined from behind Brett, but he tuned her out, pulling Liam even closer. Liam’s resulting hum of satisfaction made him feel smug. He wanted everyone to know that Liam, the beautiful boy under his fingers, was _enjoying_ himself getting kissed by Brett.

A hand descended on his shoulder, and he turned to them, annoyed. He was met with Lori’s amused face. “Enjoying yourself, are you?” Her smirk was just as smug as Brett had been feeling only seconds ago. “Come on, Satomi texted, said we needed to get home.”

Only slightly annoyed now, Brett turned away from Liam, letting his fingers leave him reluctantly. Just as he was almost out of Liam’s reach, he snatched up Brett’s hand, and slipped a piece of paper in it. Brett smiled back over his shoulder, still following Lori through the crowd.


	10. Are You There?

**ARE YOU THERE?**

Liam finished the séance, sending the family off with a false smile. Brett hovered in the corner, arms folded, and Liam sighed. “You don’t have to look at me like that.” He said tiredly. “It’s better if I lie. It hurts them less.”

“They pay you for the truth.” Brett answered, raising an eyebrow. “You should tell them.”

“What good will that do? They believe their daughter was eaten by a wild animal.” Liam grimaced as he walked to the kitchen. “Ask her yourself, Brett. She doesn’t want them to know. She just wants them to know she loves them.”

“You have the power to put that guy away for life, though.” Insisted Brett.

Liam snorted, pulling a carton of juice out of the fridge. “And who would believe me? ‘I speak to ghosts, no joke, and a little girl tells me she was raped and murdered by this man. Yes, she’s in the room now.’” He shook his head. “It’ll never work.”

He turned to face Brett. “Some of the other ghosts get spooked by you, you know? They think you’re some sort of ghost spy.” He sighed again, rubbing his face. “I should stop talking to you anyway, move on with my life.”

“So why don’t you?” Brett asked gently, reaching out and smoothing his semi-solid fingers across Liam’s brow.

“You know why I don’t.” Liam whispered, eyes closed. “When this first happened…”

“I know. I was happy too. I wish I could leave you, but you’re the only one who can see me. The fact that you _want_ to see me is a bonus.”

Liam exhaled heavily, swallowing down the rest of his juice, passing his hand through Brett’s arm as he did. He winced at the feeling. “Sorry.” He smiled softly. “And you know I want to do _way_ more than just see you, Brett.”

“Yeah, I do. And I want to do way more than just…touch you like this.” He grinned deviously. “A pity I can’t take off my clothes. I might be able to surprise you by being naked when you get home, then.”

Liam knew that Brett was trying to make him feel better, but it just made him feel hollower inside. “I hate that we only found out we liked each other _after_ you died, Brett.” His eyes finally opened, shining with tears. “I love you so much, but I can’t…” He reached out, to where Brett’s cheek would be, but unlike Brett’s, his hand just passed uselessly through the air.

“I know.” Brett pressed his lips to Liam’s – a phantom kiss. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have hung around.”

Turning back to the sink, Liam shrugged. “You didn’t know I’d suddenly get the ability to talk to ghosts.”

“Do you like it? Talking to us?” Brett asked. It wasn’t the first time he’d asked this question, but Liam never answered him.

Abruptly, Liam sat down, his back against the kitchen cupboards. “No.” He whispered, his lips barely moving. “I hate it. I hate holding these meetings where I call forth someone’s dead relative and ask them questions, while they watch their family weep. Do you know I can feel _everything_ they feel? Earlier this week, there was that couple, you remember. He’d died in a car crash she’d survived. God, he wanted to kiss her so bad, to comfort her, I had to hold myself back from doing it myself.”

Brett couldn’t sit, so he stood awkwardly while Liam dropped his head onto his knees.

“I think I kind of get how Lydia feels sometimes now. Like she’s all alone, surrounded by death.”

“I should stop coming, shouldn’t I?” Brett asked awkwardly.

“No.” Liam said immediately. “No, you shouldn’t. I need you here. You have no idea how many times you’ve protected me from bad spirits. They knock on the edges of my mind, but you push them away. You’re like a blanket of love.” Liam suddenly glared at Brett. “Oh, don’t get all sappy. I know it sounds lame, but that’s what it is. You don’t want anything bad to happen to me, so you stay by my side, and that protects me from bad things.”

“Sounds like you just need to find some way to make it all stop, huh?” Brett said sadly. “I’ll find something.”

“Wait, no, Brett. Don’t. Please.”

But Brett wasn’t listening.

 

Liam fell asleep worried, not having heard from Brett in hours. The dark spirits lurked at the edge of his mind, and he put up his own defences to keep them at bay. He wanted to stay awake and wait for Brett, but he just couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer.

His sleep was plagued by nightmares, and he woke early. When he did, he felt a wall at the edge of his mind where once he could reach out into the void. He examined it mentally, wondering where it had come from.

Curious, he called out to Samantha, one of the more common of his visitors, but he couldn’t hear or see her. Beating on the glass, he cried out for someone – anyone – to answer his call, but no one came. Finally, Liam called out for Brett. The only thing that came through was an emotion, so strong it almost bowled him over. He sat back in bed as waves of regret washed over him and finally he understood; Brett had done this.

 _WHY?_ He called, as loud as he could, and feelings of love welled inside his chest, again so strong he almost couldn’t bear it.

“But I don’t want this. I never wanted this!” He cried into the dark silence of his room, but nothing answered. A creeping sense of another presence leaked into his awareness, and he looked up, but it wasn’t Brett. It wasn’t a ghost at all. It was his neighbour.

“Is something wrong, dear?” She asked, coming further into his room.

The loss hit him like a train, and it was all he could do to try not to break down into tears right then and there. “No, Mrs. Drew, I’m fine.” He gave her a watery smile, and ushered her out the door. When she’d left, he slumped against it, and finally allowed himself to cry.


	11. Over The Hills

**OVER THE HILLS**

Liam sighed as he held the infant in his arms. After months and months of trying, the government had finally allowed Brett and himself to adopt a child – this child. His big, brown eyes stared innocently at Liam’s smiling face.

“He’s perfect.” Liam announced happily, and Brett grinned at him.

“Just as perfect as the last time you said it…and the hundred times before that.” Brett said, keeping his eyes on the road as much as he could while glowing with happiness.

“Oh, hush. I know you’re thinking the same thing.” Liam shot back, keeping his eyes on Thomas, their son.

“Gah!” Thomas said, reaching out from the blankets he was swaddled in.

Liam chuckled and slipped his finger into the curl of Thomas’ fist. “Yes, hello.” He spoke softly to Thomas, smiling so hard his cheeks hurt.

Brett reached over and placed a hand on Liam’s knee. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Liam replied, barely looking up.

“We’re here.” Brett said, putting the car into park and getting out of the car. He went around the Liam’s side and held Thomas while he got out of the car.

“You can take him inside.” Liam said, still looking at Thomas. “I’ll grab the stuff from the car.”

Smiling, Brett kissed Liam’s temple and turned to the house, pulling out his set of keys to unlock the front door. Liam watched them go then, when they were out of sight, opened the boot and picked up some of their new baby things.

When he got inside, Brett was busy showing Thomas the kitchen. “…is where you’ll be eating your food, and here’s where you’ll be playing, Thomas.” He continued until he saw Liam. “Oh! And that’s your other daddy, Thomas! Say hello!” Picking up one of his tiny hands, Brett waved at Liam.

Liam smiled and waved back. “There’s still some stuff in the car.” He huffed. “We should have set this all up before we went to get him.”

“Yeah, but we didn’t know that today was the day, did we?” Brett replied, turning Thomas so his head poked over his shoulder.

“Careful you don’t drop him. It’s a long way to the floor.” Liam joked, and Brett looked scandalised.

“Why, I’d never!” Brett pouted.

Suddenly, Liam remembered something and pulled out his phone. “I almost forgot. Everyone will want to see.”

He took a picture and quickly sent it to his mom and dad, Lori, Scott, Stiles, Lydia, Malia, Mason and Nelson. “There we go.” He said as he put his phone away.

“I’ll set up the crib first.” Brett said, handing Thomas over to Liam. “Then we can put him down while we set up the rest of the room.”

Brett and Liam had bought the house last year with the idea that they would have a child by this time. They’d bought just a small house, having only three bedrooms, a joint kitchen and living room and one bathroom. They’d bought things to make the house safe for a child, but then it had taken longer than expected for the government to approve of their application.

Now, finally, they had brought little Thomas home.

Liam smoothed Thomas’ wispy hair down, even though it wasn’t sticking up, and kissed his temple. There was no denying that he loved his son already, after only holding him for an hour. Thomas’ eyes roved the room, looking curiously at everything around him. He reached out again, towards the window, and Liam walked over, letting him look out over the garden.

Thomas cooed as he saw a pair of birds flitting around the trees, watching them dance about.

Brett came up behind Liam and slipped his arms around his middle. “It’s done.” He whispered, giving Liam a small squeeze.

“Can we just…” Liam trailed off, knowing Brett would know what he wanted. They’d been together long enough to know everything about the others’ routine, and moved around each other in perfect sync. The relationship had started as a roommate situation in college. Neither of them were quite sure of the events that led to them both drunk, making out on the couch, but they’d stayed together even after college was over.

“Yeah, of course.” Brett said, content in the moment also.

They stayed like that until Thomas started crying. “Do you think that’s ‘hungry’, ‘tired’ or ‘I just pooped my pants’?” Liam asked with a sigh.

“Well, knowing our luck, it’s probably the latter.” Answered Brett, unfolding himself from Liam.

“I’ll check.” Liam volunteered reluctantly. He knew this was going to be the first of many similar incidents.

 

After checking Thomas’ nappy, he saw that that wasn’t why he was crying. Sighing in relief, he came back out and shook his head. “He might be too hot. _I’m_ too hot.” Liam suggested as Brett heated up some milk.

Brett shrugged. “Turn a few fans on, then.” He picked Thomas up and tried talking to him calmly while bouncing him around a little. It seemed to calm him down a little, until Brett stopped, when his crying got louder.

Sighing, Brett turned and tested the milk, but he’d left it too long. It was now too hot.

“Sorry, buddy. Not just yet.” He spooned some formula in and shook it, hoping that moving it around would get it back to body temperature.

Liam entered the room, the fans now whirring, and took Thomas from Brett. “Hey, little man. What’s the matter? Hmm?” He crooned, and Thomas abruptly stopped crying, looking at Liam curiously. “Oh, what happened?” He asked Thomas as he looked up at Brett, who shrugged. “Well, whatever works, I guess.”

Finally, the bottle was the right temperature, and Brett passed the bottle to Liam, who gave it Thomas. He sucked the teat of the bottle into his mouth, and seemed content to suckle at it for now.

“Well, that wasn’t – “ Brett started to say, but Liam shook his head.

“No. God, please don’t jinx it.” Liam explained, speaking softly, hoping not to disturb Thomas, who was looking pretty sleepy. After Thomas had finished, Liam burped him and laid him down, but Thomas wasn’t going to go to sleep that easily.

Sighing, Liam sat with him and started to sing softly. Hearing this, Brett came in and sat beside Liam, sometimes joining in. Soon, Thomas closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

Closing the door to Thomas’ room, Liam leant against the wall heavily. “I’m exhausted already.” He whispered, and Brett nodded.

“Me too.” He chuckled softly. “This is gonna be harder than I thought.” He lamented.

Liam raised his eyebrows at Brett. “You thought this was going to be easy?”

“No.”

He laughed softly again, and this time, Liam joined him. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”


	12. Twelve Days Of Christmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I kind of cut this one short because I ran out of ideas, sorry, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway!

**THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS**

 

FIRST DAY – KISSES UNDER THE MOON

Brett looked up at the moon – almost full. He sighed and lay back under the blanket of stars, nestling himself next to Liam.

“So, what do you think?”

“It sounds like a nice idea.” Liam replied. “But do we really have to wait here until midnight? The twelve days of Christmas can start whenever we want.”

Brett shrugged, but really, he felt very connected to the twelve days of Christmas, even though he was Buddhist. He and his sister had always done something special for their parents when they’d been alive, and when they hadn’t been, for each other.

Liam pulled himself up onto an elbow and looked down at Brett. “What are you thinking about?” He whispered, keeping his face close to Brett’s.

“My parents, and Lori.”

Sadness flickered behind Liam’s eyes. “I’m sorry.” His hand found Brett’s in the pale light emitted by the moon.

Again, Brett shrugged. “None of it was your fault; even me thinking about them. I just remember the Christmases we had with each other.”

“Hmm.” Hummed Liam as he lay back down on their chequered blanket they’d brought. “My family didn’t really do Christmas.” His mind wandered back to when his biological dad was still with them. He remembered their attempts at a family dinner – a fantasy his father had entertained until he’d gotten so drunk he couldn’t remember anything and hit them both into unconsciousness. He’d always apologised afterwards, but they’d left eventually.

Brett looked over at Liam and kissed his cheek. “Maybe we shouldn’t, then.”

“No.” Liam said firmly. “I want to erase those Christmases – replace them with better ones.”

An incessant noise started up at Brett’s left hand and he picked his phone up, turning the alarm off. “Well, it’s the first day of Christmas.” He whispered, and kissed Liam. “And for the first day of Christmas, I give my true love some kisses under the moon.”

 

SECOND DAY – BREAKFAST IN BED

It was now Liam’s turn, but he just couldn’t think of anything. _What do normal couples do for sappy shit like this_? He thought sourly, browsing through all the websites he could find about romantic gestures, but all he could find was some ridiculous bullshit about making breakfast in bed.

_Well, I guess we’ll go with the classic._

****

The smell of eggs and waffles woke Brett up. He cracked his eyes open, and watched Liam strut about the kitchen. Their apartment was small enough for someone at the front door to see anywhere in the house. They’d gotten it cheap on account of there being no walls except for the bathroom ones.

“You don’t look very happy.” Brett commented, feeling sorry that he’d suggested it now.

Liam looked up, surprised, then huffed and returned to his cooking. “Oh, no, I’m just frustrated…” He started mumbling, and Brett smiled. Liam had never been great at cooking, and he now knew that Liam was only upset because he’d probably burnt something along the way.

“Anything you make me is amazing.” Brett said, as he always did when Liam was in a bad mood while cooking. Liam rolled his eyes, again like always, but there was a faint smile on his lips.

A few minutes later, Liam appeared at the bedside with a steaming plate of food. Assuming it was supposed to be a breakfast-in-bed deal, Brett had picked up a book and started to read, but he put it down now and looked at the plate of food. He now understood why Liam had been so frustrated.

The egg was supposed to be in the shape of a heart, but it had bled under the mould, and half of it had stuck to the pan, so it was broken in half. The waffles were shaped like Christmas trees, but they were wonky and uneven. Brett smiled.

“This looks awesome.” He said, being completely genuine, but Liam scowled at him.

“Don’t bullshit me.”

Brett held up his hands innocently. “I was being completely serious, Liam. Thank you.”

Liam handed the plate over, along with some cutlery.

“You’re not eating?” Brett asked, surprised, as Liam sat at the foot of the bed.

“Those weren’t the only attempts.” Replied Liam sheepishly. “I’d been cooking for about an hour before you got up. Those were the best of the bunch.”

Brett laughed. “You’re adorable. Do you know that?”

Liam blushed and pulled on Brett’s big toe. “Shut up.” There was a long silence while Brett finished. “Did you like it?”

“It was awesome, Liam.” He held out his arms, and Liam crawled up the bed and snuggled into them. “Thank you very much for breakfast.”

“Well, for the second day of Christmas, I give you breakfast in bed.” Liam whispered happily.

 

THIRD DAY – A DATE TO A SHOW

Liam was getting dressed when Brett came into their flat. He saw Liam half-dressed and smiled. “Get changed.” He said, giving no further information as he went into the bathroom and started the shower.

Confused, Liam got undressed and followed Brett in. “What am I getting changed for?” Liam asked, stepping into the shower behind him.

Brett handed him the soap, and Liam scrubbed Brett’s back first, then his own body. They’d performed this ritual many times before, and were very efficient at it.

“We’re going to a show. You know, like at the theatre.” He replied, turning back around to have the soap passed into his hands to he could scrub Liam’s back clean

“Oh? What’s it about?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” Brett replied as he stepped back to let Liam come into the spray. “I was recommended it by a friend.”

Liam rolled his eyes, but left it alone. Brett was often like this.

Brett turned off the shower and they stepped out, towelling themselves off. Smiling, Brett kissed Liam’s nose and went to get dressed.

 

Plucking at his shirt nervously, Liam waited with Brett in line outside the theatre. “Relax.” Brett said, nudging Liam. “It’ll be okay. I’m sure no one here will recognise you.”

“It’s not that that I’m worried about. I’m just…not good at sitting still. I’ll probably miss half of the play…or whatever it is.”

Brett smiled and took Liam’s hand. “It’ll be okay. I’ll fill you in later. I just wanted us to do something nice, you know?”

Liam sighed. “Alright, then.”

 

Finding their seat was easy, as they were still a little early, and Liam took the opportunity to snuggle into Brett’s side. With Brett’s work, they hardly ever had time just to cuddle with each other.

Brett smiled down at him and kissed his forehead. “I hope you enjoy this.” He whispered.

“I’m sure I will.” Liam whispered back.

It was a few minutes before the lights dimmed, but when they did, a hush fell over the crowd. Despite his disadvantage of not being able to sit still, Liam did just that for the whole show. When it was over, he was both restless and exhausted, so Brett decided to take him for a walk.

“So, I take it you liked it?” He asked, smirking.

“Definitely!” Liam announced. “I thought it was going to be a play, but that wasn’t a play, Brett! There was acrobatics and everything!”

Liam continued to gush about the show while Brett smiled. He was glad it had been such a good experience for Liam.

 _There’s day three._ Brett thought, taking Liam’s hand and kissing it. _I wonder what Liam will do tomorrow?_

 

DAY FOUR – GOOD MORNING SURPRISE

Brett woke up to something warm and wet surrounding his dick. He groaned and, looking down, saw Liam smile as best he could with a dick in his mouth. With a small, wet _pop_ Liam pulled off. “Morning.”

“Morning. Is this for our Christmas thing?”

Liam shrugged. “I’m not too good at ‘romantic gestures’.”

“I thought it would take you longer to resort to sex for this.” Brett half-complained.

“Resort?” Liam asked, looking horrified. “I’m not ‘resorting’ to anything. Sex can be a romantic gesture.”

Brett chuckled softly and carded his hand through Liam’s hair. “Well, in any case, I don’t want you to stop.”

“Coulda fooled me.” Liam said with a smirk.

Brett sighed as Liam resumed his ministration, tilting his head back onto his pillow. _I love this kid_ , Brett thought, smiling. Liam wasn’t really a kid anymore, though; they were both well into their twenties. Brett still thought of Liam as a kid because he was so short.

Liam looked up at Brett, meeting his eye. He pulled off again. “I know this is…kinda important to you…but can we stop? Not the blowjob; I’m enjoying that, but the Christmas thing? I’m already frustrated.”

Brett sighed, but then chuckled. “Alright, Liam. If that’s what you want.”

“You can still do nice things for me, though, and I’m going to keep giving you morning blowjobs for as long as you want, but…”

“Alright, then.”

Liam smiled, then went back to ‘work’. Brett swallowed, looking at the wondrous sight of Liam’s head bobbing right over his genitals. _He looks so good._

The muscles of Liam’s back shifted as he continued, and Brett mentally slapped himself for focussing on that rather than the feeling of Liam’s mouth on his dick.

But he couldn’t help it. He looked so…graceful. As graceful as one could be while giving a blowjob, in any case.

“Hey,” Liam said, startling Brett. “I’m losing you, aren’t I? What are you thinking about?”

“You.”

“Really?” Liam was slightly flushed before, but now it deepened in embarrassment. “So I wasn’t losing you?”

“Kind of. I wasn’t really thinking about the blowjob. I was thinking about…you.” Brett pulled him up for a kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Liam replied, leaning down for another kiss.

They continued to kiss for a while before Brett pulled away again. “At the end of this, of the twelve days, I was going to ask you to marry me.”

Liam looked up, surprised. “Really? You’re sure?”

“Yeah. So, what do you say?”

“Yes.” Liam said, kissing his cheek before snuggling into his neck. “Of course.”

“Okay. Two months, and we’re doing it.”

“Two months?”

“Valentine’s Day.”

Liam snorted, shaking his head. “You’re an idiot.” Then, he kissed Brett’s nose. “The only person I’d ever agree to marry, though.”

Brett smiled, fully believing himself to be the happiest man alive.


	13. Custody

**CUSTODY**

Brett curled around his knees, hugging them tighter to his chest. The yelling grew louder as his door opened and Lori slunk around the door, then quietened again as she pushed it closed. She crawled up onto his bed and pushed into his side.

He forced himself to unfurl, pulling her close instead.

“They’re so loud.” Lori whispered, and Brett nodded in agreement.

“We’ll be alright.” He replied finally, finding his voice. “They’ll keep it between themselves.”

It wasn’t entirely true; before Lori had been born, there had been one time when their father had decided to demonstrate his power – or some other such thing – by beating Brett senseless.

Brett shivered as he remembered the event, pulling Lori in tighter, tucking her against his side.

“That’s it!” Their mother’s voice screamed from downstairs. “I’m divorcing you!” The door slammed, and Brett flinched. He knew what was coming next.

“Lori, go back to bed.” Brett whispered, knowing instinctively that it would be worse if their father found her here.

Just minutes after Lori had crept back to bed, the door to his room burst open. His father strode into the room. Before Brett could do anything, he was pulled forward into a rough embrace.

He closed his eyes as his father shook. This was the worst part of the fights; he would always come in and cry while he held his son. Brett hated him for it.

Resentment welled in his throat, threatening to burst forward in some way. Clenching his fists, Brett held it at bay – barely.

Finally, when the tears stopped, his father stood and left, without any further words. Allowing himself to breathe again, Brett went to Lori’s room. Already, she was sleeping. He decided not to wake her.

He snuck down to the kitchen and took the phone off the hook. What he really wanted to do was go out the door and never come back, but there were so many things keeping him from doing that.

When he got back to his room, he looked at the numbers. It would be such an easy call to make – just three numbers but, like every other night, he called his friend, Liam.

The phone was picked up immediately. “Hello?”

“Hi, this is Brett. Can I talk to Liam, please?” He tried to keep his voice at a normal volume, but instinct made him speak at a whisper.

“Of course.” Liam’s mother said.

“Hey, Brett.” Liam said, in an equally hushed tone. “Did it happen again?”

Brett felt his shoulders slump. It always felt better when he heard Liam’s voice. Everything else could just melt away. He felt safe when he could imagine Liam to be right there, beside him.

“Yeah.” He breathed. “Talk to me?”

“Sure.” Liam replied, then proceeded to talk to him about nothing and everything. Finally, Brett fell asleep, and Liam hung up. Brett would wake up before his father did and put the phone back on the cradle.

 

“Where’s the phone!” His father’s voice roared, startling Brett awake. Heart sinking with dread, he turned and looked at his bedside clock. Nine. He’d overslept.

Shaking, Brett edged down the stairs, heart pounding. He held the phone out in front of him like a barricade, or perhaps a sword, as if he could defend himself with it. “I…I had it…dad.” He managed to get out.

He cowered back when his father’s hand swiped at him, but he only snatched the phone out of Brett’s hand. “Call the police, did you?” He growled, and Brett’s fear was replaced with terror.

 _He’ll never believe me_. He thought, his hands slick with sweat. His breath was coming in short, quick gasps. “N…no. No!”

His father glared at him. “Don’t lie to me!”

“I’m not!” Brett yelled back. He then remembered himself and cowered again, trying in vain to melt into the wall.

Striding forward, his father rose a hand, but Lori slid in front of him. “No!” She cried. “Leave him alone!” She was shaking, her own eyes wide with fear, but she held her ground.

Brett was shocked by her courage, but was also worried about what their father would do.

Their father just stopped short, then pulled back, sitting down at the kitchen table. “Who did you call?” Their father barked.

“Liam.” Brett answered immediately, hoping that the answer would satisfy him.

However, he looked up sharply. “Liam Dunbar?” There was hatred in his voice. “Didn’t I tell you to stop playing with him?”

Then, Brett remembered; indeed he had. He wasn’t sure why their father hated Liam so much, but there was obviously something he didn’t like.

“I don’t trust him.” Their father continued. “He’s probably been corrupted by that bitch who birthed him.” He glanced back at his children. “Probably corrupted you.”

He opened a drawer and pulled something out. Brett instinctively pulled Lori behind himself. She fought him for a second, but finally obeyed when she saw what their father was holding; a gun.

“Close your eyes.” He said, entwining their hands together.

Taking his own advice, he didn’t see the police break their door down. His eyes snapped open to see them surrounding their father. “Drop it!” One of them yelled, and their father obeyed, putting his hands in the air.

 

After their father was taken away, Liam appeared in the crowd. “Oh, thank God you’re both okay.” Liam breathed, giving both of them a hug.

“Did you call them?” Brett asked, still somewhat in shock.

Liam nodded. “I forgot to hang up. I fell asleep about when you did. I was woken up by your father yelling. It…sounded pretty serious.”

“He had a gun.” Lori said, also shocked. They’d both been draped by blankets, something Brett was thankful for; he was shivering.

Again, Liam nodded. “They told me. Are you…really okay?”

“Yeah. He didn’t actually shoot us.” Brett said, surprised by how blunt he was being.

“That’s…” Liam hesitated. “That’s good.” He said, beaming. “They’re trying to find your mom.”

Lori visibly paled, and Brett must have looked the same, because Liam frowned. “Should I tell them to look for someone else?”

“If they can. Mom…wasn’t might better, Liam. You know about the arguments.”

Liam bit his lip. “But…she didn’t actually…”

“She didn’t have to, Liam.” Brett shivered as he remembered what she’d said, right after his father had beaten him. _You probably deserved it. He only beats me when I deserve it._

“Alright. I’ll tell them to find someone else. Do you have grandparents?”

Lori and Brett looked at each other, then shrugged. They’d never met anyone besides their parents. Liam nodded, then went off to find someone.

 

Brett and Lori eventually went away to live with their grandmother, Satomi, who took good care of them, and let them visit Liam as much as they wanted to.

THE END


End file.
